Avoiding Confrontation

"Stupid monkey king, with his stupid smirk, and stupid roses!" Ryoma directed his rage on his English homework. It was almost certain that he would get a failed mark on his English homework for the first time, once the teacher got one look at his paper that was full of holes he'd made with his pencil.

And once again, it was all Atobe's fault.

They'd been having a nice day, to Ryoma's thinking anyway.

He and Keigo had been doing what they did every Saturday. They played tennis, went for a walk in the park, and stopped at a coffee shop, before heading to Keigo's home, because his parents were never home on Saturdays, for some strange reason.

Only this time, they never made it to the coffee shop. They spotted Fuji near the park they'd just left, and Keigo just had to go and talk to him.

His pencil snapped, but Ryoma couldn't care less. Anyway, it was a gift from Keigo, and as such, deserved his wrath.

Atobe had congratulated Fuji, since he'd gotten his picture's published on a magazine. But that was alright. Ryoma was also happy for his sempai. He really was.

The paper ripped. He'd have to start all over again.

Atobe bought a bush of roses. And handed them to Fuji. To Fuji!

After that, Ryoma pretended he'd gotten a text message from his mom, telling him to come home. He left Atobe with Fuji, and couldn't care less what they did. Not one bit.

"Oi seisshounen! Your weird friend with the buffed up ego is here! Says you're going to the movies!" His stupid father yelled from downstairs.

"Tell him I'm busy! I have homework!" Completely true. Since he'd just shredded his paper.

"Tell him yourself! I'm sending him upstairs!"

Ryoma wanted to yell his father not to send weird people up to his room, but knew it would do him no good. So instead, he hid the evidence of his emotional turmoil, formally known as his English paper.

Atobe entered his room without knocking, like normally. Jeez, with his upbringing, you'd think they'd have taught him some manners.

Atobe was wearing a smirk.

The smirk never changed. Only the way it affected Ryoma changed. It used to piss him off, then it started to turn him on. It still turned him on, only it was pissing him off much more right now.

"Ryoma-chan." Atobe smiled, closed the door behind him, and leaned on it. Ryoma heard a click, and knew Atobe had locked the door. He always did, when they were in Ryoma's room.

"I told you not to call me that, Monkey King."

"Likewise." Atobe answered, and strolled across the room to give him a hello kiss.

Ryoma whirled his chair around, so the kiss landed on the back off his head.

Atobe was confused for a while, but brushed it off soon. Someone else would have been suspicious because of his behaviour, but Ryoma acted like this all the time.

"So, you still have homework left? I am surprised. You usually have it all done by the time I get here." Atobe draped his arms around him, leaning his chin on top of his head.

"What are you doing here? We saw each other on saturday." Ryoma tried to ignore Atobe's presence, but it was difficult, had been ever since the end of his first year in high school. That was almost four month's ago.

"You left early. Remember?" Atobe whispered in his ear and moved his other hand under his shirt.

"So?" He grabbed Atobe's wrist, with the intention of removing it, but he ended up caressing the hand, when Atobe nibbled on his ear.

"So, I didn't get my recommended dosage of Ryoma-chan."

Oh shit! "Not here!" He yelped when Atobe turned the chair around, so Ryoma was facing him.

"Why not? I locked the door." Ryoma would have definitely given him a million good reasons, if Atobe hadn't pulled him off the chair, and on to the floor, on top off Atobe. "Besides, it's not like it's the first time."

"Che." Ryoma commented, before proceeding to kiss Atobe breathless.

He was still mad at Atobe. No, make that furious.

Atobe had no right giving roses to Fuji. If he was giving roses to anyone, it should be him. Not that he wanted roses. Who'd want roses from the Monkey King?

Fuji, apparently.

Ryoma punched Atobe in the gut, getting an 'ugh' out off him. It made him feel a little better.

"What was that for?"

"Just felt like it." He answered, still lying on Atobe's chest, who was twirling his fingers on Ryoma's hair.

Ryoma moved, so he could rest his head on Atobe's shoulder, and Atobe encircled him with his arms, pulling him in tighter. Ryoma closed his eyes and returned the embrace, by placing his hand at the side of Atobe's neck. It was a familiar position for them. Though usually, they were on Atobe's bed, not on the floor of Ryoma's room.

In the months they'd been together, Ryoma had grown attached to Atobe. He might even go so far as to say that he liked Atobe, a lot. But he wasn't ready to tell all that to Keigo, not when he wasn't even all that sure that the other felt something more for him.

If Atobe was flirting with Fuji, it wasn't likely that he was all that serious about Ryoma. And that was just fine. Really, Ryoma didn't care, not one bit. Atobe could go and fuck Fuji, for all he cared.

"Ryoma, you're choking me!" Atobe declared in a strangled voice, clutching at Ryoma's fingers that were burrowing on his neck.

"Interesting marks you have there, Atobe." Oshitari commented, while they were sitting at the back of the auditorium, attending a lecture on economics, one that they both found tedious.

Atobe touched the bruises on his neck. It went without saying, that he wasn't pleased when he saw them this morning, in the mirror. What irked him more than the flaw in his perfect complexion was that no amount of coaxing would make Ryoma tell him what had caused the brat to commit the assault against Atobe.

"What happened? You finally irritated Sanada too much, and he snapped?"

"No, it wasn't Sanada, it was-" Atobe stopped mid sentence, noticing he had almost told Oshitari about him and Ryoma.

"It was who?" Oshitari was smiling in a way that never promised anyone any good.

"My father. He was shocked at my phone bill. Though he stopped, when he remembered I am his only child." There was really no reason to keep his relationship from Oshitari, it's not like he and Ryoma were hiding it. But they hadn't declared it to anyone, either, and Ryoma had never brought up the subject with Atobe. As it was only a few people knew about it, most of them Ryoma's former team mates. "And what do you mean, irritated Sanada?"

"Well you've been hanging around with him quite a lot, lately. And it seems like he's about to pop a vein, every time you start talking to him. This morning, I actually saw him running away when he saw you."

"Really? I didn't notice." Atobe allowed himself to smile at the thought of Sanada running away from him. It was strangely pleasing.

"I know. You were too busy admiring your reflection in the window." Oshitari did not hide the amused tone of his voice.

"What could I do? The light was just perfect. It framed my beautiful form perfectly." Atobe flipped his hair, thinking he'd distracted Oshitari from the previous conversation subject, by opening himself up for insults.

Oh, how wrong could one be?

"I haven't seen you in the clubs lately. Are you seeing someone?"

That was blunt. And not like Oshitari. He must be really curious. Atobe quirked on eyebrow, and turned to look at his friend. Oh, what the hell. It's not like I'm telling him it's Ryoma. "Yes I am."

"Who?"

Atobe's laugh echoed in the silent auditorium, causing everyone to look at him. That hardly fazed him. Owning up to his reputation, Atobe smiled, and waved a hand at the lecturer, as if giving him permission to continue. Baffled, the man started speaking again, not even noticing that he'd just taken an order from a student. A few chuckles at the man's expense were heard.

"My my, aren't we curious." He mused, turning back to Oshitari.

"Of course. You're not the type to settle down, after all." Oshitari answered. "We're actually betting on who's the lucky guy. Tezuka is a big favourite. And so is Sanada, since you've started to hang around with him lately."

"I wonder how he'd take that."

"Not all that well. I asked him this morning." Oshitari told him. "So, who is it?"

"Can't tell you that." Atobe said.

"You know I can find out for myself."

"Then do so."

"You know, were not kids anymore. And why the hell did you drag me with you?" Hiyoshi complained, as he was being yanked to hide behind a car, by an excited Jirou.

"Don't tell me you're not curious about who Atobe is seeing?" Asked Mukahi, who was crouching behind the car with them, next to Oshitari.

"Sure, but do we have to spy on him? Couldn't we just, I dunno, ask Sanada, or something?"

"He won't tell. I already asked him." Jirou told him.

"But still, spying? Aren't we a little too old for this?"

"You are never too old to learn new things." Oshitari answered this time.

"That's just a lame excuse." Hiyoshi scowled.

"You're free to go home anytime you want." Mukahi said.

"No way am I missing this!" Hiyoshi yelled.

The other three smirked at each other.

"Look, he's going in to that diner!" Jirou yelled, starting to jump up and down, pointing at the diner where Atobe had just disappeared to.

"You're going to spoil our cover!" Hiyoshi pulled Jirou back down from the older boy's collar.

"This isn't a military mission, Hiyoshi." Mukahi laughed.

"You're thinking police stakeouts, Gakuto. You really must stop watching those cop movies." Oshitari told his friend.

"Yuushi! Don't be mean!" Gakuto pouted. Not very efficiently, though, since it had no effect on any of them.

"Damn, they're too far! I can't see who he's sitting with!" Hiyoshi shouted, squinting.

"Here. You can borrow mine." A pair of binoculars was produced in front of him. He turned around to see Mizuki Hajime.

"What, you still spying on people?" Mukahi asked.

Mizuki huffed, and rolled his eyes. "Of course not. Those are for bird watching. I just bought them." And true enough, they saw the package of the binoculars in his hands.

"I'm still suspicious, but thanks." Mukahi said, while waiting for Hiyoshi to give him the binoculars. Getting impatient, he grabbed them from Hiyoshi. "My turn!" He lifted them to his eyes, and the image of Atobe laughing jumped before his eyes. He quickly turned the binoculars to see who Atobe's companion was.

Sitting across from Atobe was Fuji Syusuke.

"So it's the smiling tensai of Seigaku." Oshitari spoke, after getting his turn to use the binoculars.

"Really! Sugoi!" Jirou grinned brightly. "Let me see!" He grabbed the binoculars from Oshitari, who didn't put up a fight. After Jirou was done, he gave them back to Mizuki, who put them back in their package.

"Don't you want to look?" Oshitari asked him.

"I don't need to see them, to know what's happening in there." Mizuki twirled his hair. "Nfu, nfu, nfu."

After getting some distance between himself and the wanna bee spies, he pulled out his phone, and started typing a message. "I'm sure Syusuke will find this very entertaining, nfu, nfu, nfu."

Atobe sat down, facing Fuji, and began to fiddle with the menu. The diner was not his choice. He would have preferred a meeting place that would have been more suitable for his status, but for some strange reason Fuji had insisted that they meet in this particular diner.

The waitress came, and without even looking at his menu, Fuji ordered, "Wasabi coffee."

"The usual then, Fuji-kun. And your friend?" The waitress asked.

"Plain coffee." Atobe said, after quickly scanning through the menu, and finding it lacking in many aspects, including design. The simplified pictures of elephants dancing made him shudder. And were those monkeys? With pink ribbons?

"You know, this is the only place in Tokyo that I know of that has wasabi flavoured coffee." Fuji told him, after the waitress had left.

"Ryoma mentioned you have a unique taste in food."

"Not many share my taste, true, but you can hardly call my liking of wasabi flavoured coffee unique, since they are serving it here." Fuji smiled at him. "So, Kei-kun, why did you wish to see me?"

Kei-kun? Well, its better then Monkey King, I suppose. "Since Sanada keeps running a way from me, I no longer have anyone to confide in, and I must speak with someone about Ryoma." Atobe sighed, feeling desperate. "And since you already know about us, and among those privy of our relationship, you seem the most approachable."

"Are you having problems, then?" Fuji asked.

Atobe was about to answer, when the waitress brought their coffees. Atobe sniffed his own cup, fearing the waitress might have made a mistake, and given him Fuji's drink. But when he smelled only the familiar bitterness of coffee, and saw Fuji savouring the scent of his own drink, he took a sip of the hot coffee. To his surprise, it was a good cup of coffee.

"It's nothing specific, really." Atobe fiddled with his cup. It was a lot harder speaking to Fuji then complaining to Sanada, for some reason.

"Well, it must be something, since you called me just so you could talk about it. You're not considering on breaking up with him, are you?" the glint in Fuji's eyes made Atobe flinch, and the smile he had considered as gentle, looked frighteningly similar to that of a wolf.

"No, of course not! I care very deeply about him." Atobe hurried to answer. "But Ryoma, I really don't know if he feels to same way about me."

"Why would you say that? Did something happen?"

"You could say that." Atobe remembered what had happened yesterday.

It was Friday, and not willing to wait until the next day, Atobe had picked up Ryoma while to boy was walking home from school. After a small argument, Ryoma finally agreed to get in his car, and Atobe had driven them to his house. There they had spent the evening lounging on the couch, watching TV.

Bored, Atobe had decided to make things more interesting. They had been in the midst of a heated kiss, when Ryoma had suddenly gone stiff, shoved Atobe out of the way, and grabbed the remote control to add volume. "- nothing more has been informed of the accident involving the young tennis player Tezuka Kunimitsu, who has been making a name for himself these past months, other than that the injury on his hand will prevent him from playing at least for a couple of months. And now, on to other sports news -"

"Which hand? You didn't say which of his hands he injured! Is it the right hand, or the left?!" Ryoma yelled at the television.

"Calm down, I'm sure it's not that serious. They said that he'll be able to play in a few months." Atobe tried to comfort Ryoma, and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. The hand was shoved away, and Ryoma grabbed his cell phone, and started pacing around the living room, the phone at his ear.

"He's not answering." Ryoma finally ended the call.

"Who?"

"Tezuka. He's not answering his phone." Ryoma informed him, still not looking at him.

"You have Tezuka's phone number?" Atobe felt a surge of jealousy. He had never been comfortable with the relationship between his boyfriend and the former captain of Seigaku's tennis team.

"Of course I do." Ryoma seemed oblivious to his boyfriend's feelings. He lifted the phone to his ear once again. "Inui-sempai? Did you see the news? Do you know which hand, is it? They didn't say." Ryoma listened for a while, his form getting more and more tense. "If you didn't know, you could have just said so, Inui-sempai! I don't care about probabilities!" Ryoma hang up on his sempai and started pacing again.

"I'm sure they will know more by tomorrow." Atobe rose from the couch and approached Ryoma.

"I can't wait that long!" Ryoma yelled at him. The phone in his hand started flashing, and after glancing at the screen, Ryoma lifted it to his ear. "Buchou? They didn't say which hand you hurt." Ryoma walked to the kitchen to speak with Tezuka. Atobe wondered how two, naturally quiet people, could talk to each other for over an hour.

"So basically, you're jealous." Fuji stated, after Atobe had told him about it.

"Yes." Atobe answered, not bothering to argue over the obvious. "Wouldn't you be, if your boyfriend would rather talk nonsense with his former captain, then spend time with you, making out on the couch?"

"Well, I've never actually faced such a problem, but I can see your point." Fuji took another sip from his coffee. "You do realize that meeting with me like this could be considered as an attempt to make him jealous."

Atobe laughed bitterly. "Jealous? Ryoma? You must be joking. I'm beginning to suspect he couldn't care less if I humped everything with two legs."

"Is that what the roses were for? I'm a little hurt, Kei-kun." Atobe was about to answer, when Fuji's phone beeped. Fuji read the message, a little smile forming on his lips. "It seems we have an audience, Atobe."

"What do you mean, Fuji?"

"Well, don't look straight at it, but see that blue car across the street?"

Atobe glanced at the car from the corner of his eye. After spotting a familiar head of red hair jumping up and down, he sighed. "This is so embarrassing. I told Oshitari he was welcome to try and find out who I was dating, but I never expected him to do something this stupid. And is that Hiyoshi? How the hell did they get him to go along with this? He's always been level headed."

"Well, according to my information, there's Jirou, Oshitari, Mukahi and Hiyoshi behind the car. And they seem convinced we are dating." Fuji put his phone down.

"The idiots." Atobe snapped. "How can Oshitari get it so wrong? I mean, I practically told him to follow me on Friday." He began to feel uneasy, and looked back at Fuji, who was staring at him wide eyed, with an expression that was a mix of shock and amusement.

Atobe felt like he needed to explain, but in the end, he just settled on shrugging. Fuji shook his head, and once the shock had passed, the amusement grew in to a soft laughter. "Well, I think I understand your motives, but I'm not all that sure Echizen would."

"I don't have to worry about that now, do I?" Atobe finished his coffee, and grimaced at the bitter after taste. "We might as well go tell them they're mistaken. You coming, Fuji?"

"It might be entertaining." Fuji answered, and followed him from the diner.

Ryoma shouldered his tennis bag, not bothering to say goodbye to his father, who he knew, was lounging by the temple's bell, reading his stupid magazines. His mother and Nanako had left earlier to go shopping. Apparently there was a big sale.

But before he left, he still had time to pet Karupin, and give the cat some milk. He loved Karupin. Every day felt brighter as long as he had Karupin. Karupin would never betray him, or do something stupid like give Fuji roses.

Okay, so maybe he was a bit obsessed over the whole incident with the roses.

Sighing, he closed the gate, and headed towards the park. He arrived at the tennis court, knowing that Atobe wouldn't show up for another couple of hours. He had thought of using the extra time to warm up, but decided against it, after his stomach growled. He still had plenty of time before noon, and he could leave his tennis bag in the locker room. It seemed no one besides him and Atobe never came here, anyway.

To satisfy his hunger, Ryoma bought a burger, and opted to take it with him, instead of eating it inside. He began walking around, glancing through shop windows, taking a bite out of his burger every now and then. He soon noticed that he was near a diner Fuji had once dragged him in to, excited that they served wasabi flavoured coffee. He'd gotten Ryoma to taste it, and it wasn't all that bad, really.

He stopped, when he noticed something strange. Four boys, all them he could place to Hyoutei, in his memories, were crouched behind a car. They were whispering to each other, and giggling. He walked a little further so he could hear them, but stayed hidden behind another car. It was a van, fortunately, so he didn't have to crouch, like the other four.

"Can you believe it? Atobe is dating Fuji." One of the boy's, one that Ryoma remembered defeating in junior high, said.

There might be an explanation to this. Ryoma thought, and that is why he stayed hidden, behind the van. It wasn't because he was eavesdropping, of course not.

"They're coming out of the diner! Look, they're holding hands!" What the hell! No frickeng explanation could save Atobe from this!

"They're heading this way! Quick, crouch!"

"We are crouching!"

"Well, crouch deeper!"

"Well aren't you an idiotic sight." Ryoma heard a familiar voice that oozed superiority. "You wouldn't be following ore-sama, now would you?"

"Of course not Atobe, what ever gave you that idea?"

"The fact that you are hiding behind a car, gave me a hint, Oshitari." Atobe answered.

"At least we found out you've been dating Fuji! Don't even try to deny it Atobe!" A quick glance told Ryoma the yeller was a boy that had a freakish looking red haircut. He remembered thinking the same about the hair a few years ago, and couldn't believe that the boy hadn't cut it in a different style. I mean, it wasn't fashionable even then, much less now.

"Why don't we leave your friends to their entertainment, Kei-kun?" Fuji's voice was full of sweetness, and Ryoma felt like strangling his sempai. Kei-kun? Hell no! I'm the only one who has the right to give Keigo cute nick names. Like monkey king. Really, he did not see what Atobe had against it.

"Yes, I have other pressing engagements to attend to. And it seems I'll be running late, if I do not hurry." He didn't even comment on it! Every time Ryoma called Atobe monkey king, he would seethe with annoyance, or answer with another horrible nickname he'd invented for Ryoma. But when Fuji does the same, nothing.

Feeling numb, Ryoma leaned against the van, and that triggered the van's car alarm. He jumped, dropped his half eaten burger, and ran away, not even once looking back.

The four boys stared after Atobe and Fuji, who were walking away from them. They weren't holding hands anymore, but they didn't seem all that unaccustomed to each other's company, either. And more importantly, neither had denied the existence of a relationship between them.

They jumped, when a car alarm went off behind them.

"Isn't that Echizen Ryoma?" Hiyoshi, who had once had a huge crush on the kid, asked.

"Was he spying on us? Why?" Jirou wanted to know.

"Maybe he likes Fuji." Oshitari guessed.

"That makes sense." Mukahi said. "Who wants ice-cream?"

"You're late." Atobe's voice welcomed him to the locker room.

Ryoma looked at Atobe, with no expression on his face. "No I'm not. You're early." He answered, with his voice just as expressionless as his face.

Atobe glanced at his wrist watch. "Ah, so I am. Still, you usually are here earlier. You've been doing that an awful lot this week. Running behind your own schedule. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing." He brushed past Atobe to his bag, but Atobe grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't lie to me. Something's wrong. Tell me, what it is, or else I'll -" He was cut off, when Ryoma punched him. Atobe staggered a couple of steps, and lifted his hand to his face. He stared disbelievingly at the blood on his finger. His lip was cut.

"Why you little bastard." Atobe growled, his eyes narrowing. To Ryoma, it seemed like Atobe was flying, so fast he moved. The next thing he realized, he was pinned against the lockers, Atobe's hand choking him. They glared at each other, Ryoma, trying to pry Atobe's hand from his throat, who grabbed his other hand in his hold, and pinned it above the younger boy's head. After he'd successfully done that, he stopped choking Ryoma, only to pin both his hands above his head. Then he kissed Ryoma.

It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was a kiss full of anger, and Ryoma answered it with eagerness. They bit each other, and Ryoma sucked enthusiastically at the cut he'd made on Atobe's lip, tasting his blood.

They were both breathing hard when Atobe finally released Ryoma's hands, only to pull the younger boy's shirt off. Ryoma yanked Atobe's pants down, and delved his hand to Atobe's boxers. Atobe moaned, cutting off their kiss for a second. He pushed Ryoma harder against the lockers, making them both gasp from pleasure. Ryoma buried his head in the crook of Atobe's neck, and bit. Hard.

In retaliation Atobe smacked him against the lockers, again. "You insufferable little brat." Atobe hissed between his clenched teeth. "Must you mar my beautiful skin?" He wasn't mad anymore, and Ryoma could hear from his voice, that Atobe was amused. Ryoma would've be pissed, if he could think straight.

"Yesss." He hissed, instead, and licked the skin that he'd just bitten. Atobe grunted, and pulled his head up for a heated kiss. It was all tongues, and no tenderness.

Ryoma grabbed Atobe's dress shirt with both of his hand's, and pulled it open. He heard something rip, but didn't really care, not when his hands were caressing Atobe's naked chest.

They broke the kiss, and Atobe pushed their foreheads together, so he could look into Ryoma's eyes. He smiled, and caressed the boy's cheek and jaw with his fingers. Ryoma scowled, confused by the gentleness of the gaze. It was simpler when they weren't thinking, only doing.

Noticing that Atobe was preparing to tell him something, something sweet that would probably ruin the whole mood, Ryoma pushed Atobe, who stumbled backwards, and fell in to a sitting position, back resting against the opposing wall of lockers. Ryoma climbed on his lap, and placed his finger on the other's lips. As confused as Atobe was, he didn't argue. If Ryoma didn't want them to speak, he would comply.

Atobe grabbed a handful of Ryoma's hair, kissed the boy's throat, biting the skin gently with his teeth, careful not to actually bite. Ryoma struggled in his hold, perhaps wanting to get to a more comfortable position, but Atobe did not release him, only tightened his hold on the boy's hair, making Ryoma whimper. Atobe laughed against the boy's throat, traced his tongue along the sensitive neck, and ended up nibbling on the earlobe.

Ryoma circled his legs around Atobe's waist and pushed his own arousal against Atobe's, huffing, "Fuck me, Keigo." Not very intelligent, or original, much less romantic, but Atobe got the message.

Atobe stood up, Ryoma still clinging to him, legs around his waist, hands now circling his neck. While Atobe was opening his jeans, Ryoma was muttering something incomprehensible to his ear. He couldn't hear any of it, but the breathing next to his ear excited him more, so it took him a little longer then it normally would, to open Ryoma's jeans, and yank them out of the way. Ryoma put his feet down at Atobe's nudging, and was once again pushed against the lockers, this time, his chest pressed to the cold metal. He breathed deeply, as Atobe pushed against him.

Atobe buried his mouth on Ryoma's neck and he clung on Atobe's hair, as Atobe pushed in to him. "Gnh!" He shut his eyes, trying to keep the tears from flowing. He felt one sliding down his cheek, and Atobe's tongue, as the boy licked it from his face.

The phone rang.

"Moshi, moshi." He heard Ryoma answer the phone. "No, nothing important." Atobe opened his eyes to look at Ryoma, who had just a while ago, been asleep at his side, on Atobe's bed. "Yeah, I'm going." Ryoma put the phone down on the table beside the bed, and stood up. He started to put his clothes back on, apparently not noticing that Atobe was awake too.

Atobe watched him silently. He glanced at the clock, it wasn't even seven yet, they'd only slept for a few hours.

After their game, they'd decided against going to the café, and instead, came straight to Atobe's, where they ate, had another steamy sex session, and fell asleep. Atobe had hoped Ryoma would spend the night here, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.

Only when Ryoma opened the bedroom door, did Atobe speak, "You were actually going to leave without saying goodbye?" He asked, rising from the bed, as well.

Ryoma glanced over his shoulder. "I was going to leave you a note."

"A note?" Atobe snorted. "You are unbelievable."

"What's wrong with a note? I didn't want to wake you. You're always complaining you don't get enough sleep, because of studying."

True enough. Still, Atobe would have preferred saying goodbye to Ryoma personally, instead of a note, and he knew Ryoma knew it. "Who are you going to see, anyway?" He asked. "Whoever it is, can't you just call, and reschedule. I was hoping you'd stay."

"No, buchou's coming back today, and I'm going to meet him at the airport."

Tezuka. Always Tezuka. "You can see him tomorrow, right? I'm sure there are a lot of people to greet him."

"No, Inui-sempai and I are the only ones who know he's coming back today, and we decided that only one of us will go and greet him. Buchou doesn't like crowds, you know that." Ryoma grumbled, while fidgeting with the door handle.

"What about after you've seen Tezuka? You could come back. My parents aren't coming home until monday." Atobe suggested.

Ryoma looked up, and smiled. Atobe was a bit taken back by the smile. It seemed genuine. He returned the smile, feeling… happy. "I'll call dad, and tell him I'm spending the night." Ryoma said. The kid even kissed him goodbye out of his own volition, for the first time, ever.

Smiling happily, Atobe went to the kitchen, to get himself some coffee. After all, he wanted to be awake, when Ryoma returned. And so what if he took a piece of chocolate cake? It's not like he needed to watch his calories.

Ryoma peered through the crowd, looking for a familiar nest of light brown hair, and a stern face. The people walking by, bumped into him, and he tried to keep his balance, when a man with a large back-bag whirled around, smacking him in the chest. He staggered, and would have fallen, if a strong arm had not steadied him. "You should be more careful, Echizen."

"Buchou!" Ryoma greeted the older boy, turning around. Tezuka was unchanged, except for the cast on his right arm, and the sling, supporting the arm. "Where's your luggage? I'll go get it."

"I already took care of that." Tezuka answered, and lifted his bag from the ground. Or at least, he attempted to lift his bag, but Ryoma snagged it from his grasp. He was about to argue that he could carry his own luggage, but saw the determined glint in Ryoma's eyes, and wisely silenced his thoughts about the matter. Instead, he decided to approach a different subject. "I'm surprised to see you here. I thought Inui would come to greet me, not you."

"Why wouldn't I come?"

Tezuka glanced at the shorter boy, but remained silent. The only answer Ryoma got was a neutral "Aah." He did not ask about Atobe, even if he was slightly curious. He knew the two were still together, Ryoma had mentioned he was at Atobe's when Tezuka had called him yesterday.

Recently, he and Ryoma had been talking to each other over the phone more often. It had started when Ryoma had called him to congratulate him at a particularly difficult win. Since then, Ryoma had made it a point to call him after his every game, whether he won, or not. Tezuka had found it nice, to be able to talk to someone about his games, after they were over. About what he might have done differently, and analyse the opponents moves. They hade forged a relationship over the phone, one that was much closer then the one they had, when they were both still at school. The boy didn't seem like a subordinate to him anymore. He was more like a friend, now, despite Echizen's insistence on calling him Buchou.

They took a bus from the airport, and arrived safely at Tezuka's home. Tezuka invited Ryoma in, knowing his parents were on an extended holiday in the Mediterranean. They'd called, right after the accident, but after finding out he was not severely injured, and that his arm would heal completely in a couple of months, and on Tezuka's own insistence, they decided not to end their holiday short.

There was a red light on the answering machine, indicating a message. Tezuka listened to the message. "Well, I expect you to be home by now, Kunimitsu." His father's voice came from the machine. "We know you're old enough to take care of yourself, but we are your parents, and parents tend to worry, so don't grumble, just listen. There should be some leftovers in the freezer thanks to your mother's eagerness to cooking. If the food should run out, you can get more from around the corner, and I do not mean the restaurant, but the convenience store. Cook, Kunimitsu, don't order in. And if you find the task of heating the oven too strenuous, you can always visit your grandparents. They'll be more then happy to feed you, at least your grandmother. And before I forget, we taped your matches; the tapes are in the cupboard under the VCR. Take care, and call us tomorrow. We'll back in the hotel by then. Your mother sends her love. Bye now." The message ended, and smiling lightly, Tezuka wiped the message.

"Not fond of cooking, eh?" Ryoma asked, with a sneer.

Tezuka did not answer. "Are you hungry? I'm sure there's something you like in our freezer, knowing my mother."

"Not really. I ate at Keigo's." Ryoma answered, and Tezuka quirked an eyebrow at the use of Atobe's first name. Yesterday it had still been Atobe. "Let's watch the tapes. I think I might've missed a few."

Tezuka agreed, wanting a chance to analyze the games further. They settled in the couch to watch the tapes. After an hour, Tezuka stifled a yawn, and blinked his eyes. He looked over at Ryoma, only to notice the younger boy fast asleep. He closed his eyes, and stifled another yawn. I should wake Echizen and get him home. I'm sure his father is very worried…

The tape came to an end, and started to rewind. Neither of the sleeping boys noticed. Nor did either of them wake up to the ringing of a cell phone.

Atobe was panicking. It was past midnight, and Ryoma hadn't shown up, or called. Even worse, the brat didn't answer his phone. And he was with Tezuka. Tezuka!

His mind was conjuring up images of the two, with Ryoma breathing sensually 'Buchou, buchou!' over, and over again. You could hardly blame him, if you've ever heard Ryoma say the title. There was a certain tone in the kid's voice, when he addressed his former captain with the title. And add that to the fact that Atobe knew exactly what Ryoma sounded like in bed, and the diva's over active imagination, and his jealousy, you were looking at a nervous breakdown.

Accepting the fact that Ryoma wasn't going to answer, he tried the second best choice, but was not successful. Why the hell isn't Sanada answering when I need him!

Sighing, he finally gave up, and selected the number he had hoped he would never need to dial, when it concerned Ryoma. "You want to know who ore-sama is dating. Then get your ass over here! Pronto!"

Oshitari had practically ran to his car, and speeded through a couple of red lights after getting the call from Atobe. "Hurry up, Yuushi!" Mukahi screamed from the backseat, where he was sitting with Shishido and Jirou. Hiyoshi wasn't with them, for the simple reason that when they got the call from Atobe, they were in a club, and Hiyoshi was under aged. And refused any offers on getting himself a fake ID. Who knew the kid had high morals? It was rather amazing, really, considering he hang out with them.

"He's already speeding, Mukahi. So shut the fuck up!" Shishido snapped. "Your screeching voice is hurting my ears!"

"Just because your boyfriend is out of town, doesn't mean you have to be mean to everybody, hippie!" Mukahi stopped clinging to the back of Oshitari's seat, so he could glare at Shishido.

Shishido flipped his long hair in a way that would have made Atobe envious, and returned the glare. "That's not it!"

"Oh really?!"

"Yeah. I'm only being mean to you. No shut the fuck up!"

"Make me, hippie!"

"Gladly!"

"We're here!" Jirou exclaimed, and jumped up and down. He'd been hyperactive ever since they found out that Atobe was dating. Who could've guessed that their former captain's love life interested him so much?

Oshitari didn't even bother to lock his car, as he ran to the door, and rang the bell. After a while, Atobe opened the door, looked at all of them, and slammed the door shut again.

"Atobe!"

"Keigo-chan!"

"Open the door, you asshole!"

"Remember you called me, Atobe!"

Finally, the door opened again, but all they saw of Atobe, was the back of his brown haired head, as the diva disappeared behind a corner, to his living room. His 'friends' followed. "I do not, remember inviting all of you."

"I could've hardly stopped them." Oshitari answered. Then he noticed something different about Atobe.

But it was Shishido who pointed it out. "What the hell happened to your face? Don't tell me! You're in an abusive relationship, and you called Oshitari so he could send his family lawyers after the guy!"

"No way! Is Fuji smacking you around?" Mukahi squealed in delight.

"No! I can't believe Fuji would do something like that!" exclaimed Jirou, coming to his hero's defence.

"How many times do I have to tell you idiots, I'm not dating Fuji!" Atobe screamed.

"Well, you haven't actually told us even once, so… Once is enough, I think." Oshitari said, staying calm midst the madness around him. "But are you?"

"No, you idiot! I'm not dating Fuji!"

"No, I mean the thing about the abusive relationship." Oshitari was genuinely worried for his friend. "Putting your cut lip together with the finger marks on your neck, suggest that."

Atobe stared at him for quite some time. It was long enough for Jirou to notice something else. "Keigo-chan, there's blood on your shirt."

Instinctively Atobe raised a hand to his neck, where Ryoma had bitten him. He looked at his fingers, and noticed they were smeared with blood. The bite mark must have opened, while he was panicking, and exasperating over his idiotic friends. And because he was wearing a white shirt, it wasn't a miracle Jirou had noticed it.

There was a 'Thump!' and Atobe looked over to see that Shishido had fainted. For a 'tough guy', it was pretty embarrassing to faint at the sight of blood.

"I'll just go and clean this up. Wont be long." Atobe informed them, went to the bathroom, where he cleaned the bite mark again, and placed a bandage on it. That should keep Shishido from fainting again.

Sighing, Atobe stared at his own reflection, contemplating on his situation. It was true, that from Oshitari's point of view, it was reasonable to think he was involved with someone who was, 'smacking him around', as Mukahi had put it. The bruises Ryoma had left on his neck last Monday were still visible on his neck, even if they had faded a little. His lower lip was a little swollen, and the cut was obvious to anyone who even glanced his way. And now, the bite mark on his neck. Atobe wasn't all that sure if it would ever heal completely. He might have to live his whole life with Ryoma's teeth marks on his neck.

He tossed his shirt to the laundry basket, and walked to his room, to get a new one from his humongous walk-in closet. He didn't notice that all his friends had migrated to his room, until someone gasped behind his back. He turned around to look, and they were all sitting on his bed, with a look of shock in their eyes.

"What now?" He snapped, irritated.

"Either someone is torturing you, or you're having really good sex." Shishido said.

Atobe smirked.

"So, who're you fucking?"

"That was rather crass, Gakuto." Oshitari commented.

"Well, at least it gets right to the point." Shishido snagged a grape from the bowl in the living room table, but spit it out almost instantaneously. "What the hell! These things are plastic!"

"Of course. Why would we keep fresh fruit in the living room? They only attract insects." Atobe snorted. "If you want something to eat, go get it from the kitchen, or order in."

"Yeah, go get us some pizza!" Mukahi ordered.

"Like hell am I leaving this room until I hear who's Atobe doing!"

"You know, we do have neighbours." Atobe said, trying to get them to lower their voices.

"Yeah, like a few hundred yards away!" Mukahi sneered. "Still, you're evading the question! Who's your secret boyfriend?"

"He's hardly secret." Atobe scoffed.

"For fuck's sake Atobe, just spit it out already!" Shishido yelled.

"Fine!" Atobe screamed, and rose from his seat. But instead of answering, he started pacing around. He pulled his phone from his pocket, stared at it for a couple of seconds, muttering something about Sanada, and then looked back at them. He took a deep breath, before finally saying, "Echizen Ryoma."

There was silence.

"Hah! I knew it! I knew you had a thing for the brat!" Shishido pointed a finger at Atobe, and a victorious grin spread on his face. "I told you, Oshitari, but you didn't believe me! In your faces, suckers! You owe me!"

"Fine, I'll pay you tomorrow." Mukahi grumbled.

"Do you take checks?" Oshitari asked.

"From anyone but you, sure." Shishido answered with a grin.

"Here you go, Shishido." Jirou gave him a stack of money, glanced around, and decided the couch would be a nice place to doze of.

"You were actually betting on it?" Atobe shook his head. "And how the hell did you, of all people, guess?" he asked Shishido.

"Told you, knew you had a thing for the kid." Shishido shrugged. "So, why'd you call us? Trouble in paradise?"

"Ore-sama did not call you. Ore-sama called Oshitari"

"Yeah, well, you got us. Deal with it. Now, spill." Shishido demanded.

"Weren't you supposed to be ordering pizza?" Atobe asked.

"Go get us some pizza, hippie!"

"Shut up, Mukahi! And you're just trying to chance the subject!" Shishido accused Atobe. "Quit stalling, and tell us already. You'll feel better."

"Your feigned sympathy is not convincing ore-sama." Atobe flipped his hair, but knew Shishido, for once in his life, was right. He would feel better after he'd told them. He always felt better after his rants to Sanada. "Ryoma was supposed to come here for the night, but he went to get Tezuka from the airport, and hasn't come back yet. He hasn't called, and he's not answering his phone! And he's with Tezuka!" Atobe started hyperventilating, but managed to calm him self down. Why is no one offering me a paper bag?, he wondered, since that was the thing to do, when someone was hyperventilating, and he assumed his friends cared about him, and wanted him to live.

He was faced by the sympathetic look of his friends.

"I'm so sorry, Keigo-chan." Jirou, now completely awake, if miserable looking, told him, while the others nodded in agreement.

"What? Aren't you going to say I'm over reacting, that there's nothing to worry about, that I'm ridiculous for even thinking there might be something between those two?!" He was starting to regret ever calling Oshitari, and now knew there was no way in hell Shishido would ever be right about anything in his whole life! He wasn't feeling any better!

"You're joking, right!" Shishido sneered. "Have you ever heard the way the kid call's him Buchou? I swear, he sounds kinkier then Mukahi on heat."

"Oi, that's… Insulting… Isn't it…?" Mukahi trailed off. "But the hippie's right. The brat definitely has a thing for Tezuka."

"And don't get me started on Tezuka! I mean the whole pillar thing? Such a scam!" Shishido waved a hand.

"Yeah, he's just trying to get in to the brat's pants. Ne, Yuushi, can we order some pizza now?"

Atobe started hyperventilating again. This time, Oshitari offered him a paper bag.

Ryoma cuddled closer to the warmth emanating from his companion. He yawned, and grabbed a fistful of the shirt. The fabric felt coarse. Strange, he'd always imagined Keigo would sleep in silk pyjamas.

Ryoma's eyes snapped open. "Shit! Keigo!" He looked up, only to see the sleeping face of his captain. Tezuka's left arm was curled around him, and Ryoma was pressed between his captain and the back of the couch. How they managed to get in to that position during the night was anyone's guess, since Ryoma was pretty sure they'd been sitting side by side, when he fell asleep.

He tried to get up, but Tezuka only pulled him tighter against himself. He started wriggling, attempting to pry Tezuka's arm off him, but that only caused Tezuka to move his hand to his head, and press Ryoma's face against Tezuka's neck. When Ryoma tried to pull the hand from his head, he noticed that Tezuka had managed to tangle his fingers in his hair, and it would be pretty painful if he just simply pulled the hand away.

Ryoma sighed against Tezuka's neck, pulled his hand back, formed a fist, and punched Tezuka's stomach. The older boy didn't even flinch. "Buchou!" Ryoma screamed from frustration, but since his head was nuzzled in Tezuka's neck, the voice was muffled, and didn't wake Tezuka. "Now what?"

With a sudden inspiration, Ryoma lifted his hand to Tezuka's face, traced his fingers on the boy's face, until he found the nose. He pinched Tezuka's nose, waiting for Tezuka to wake from the lack of oxygen. Instead, Tezuka just opened his mouth. Ryoma almost cried.

Just when he was about to give up, and go back to sleep, someone rang the doorbell. Continuously. If they can wake buchou up, I'll be eternally grateful to them. Ryoma thought, just as Tezuka started to stir.

"Echizen?" a hesitant question.

"Mind letting go of my hair, Buchou?" Ryoma asked.

"Sorry." Tezuka said, and untangled his fingers from Ryoma's hair, letting the boy get up.

"Someone's at the door." His words were followed by another series of rings from the doorbell.

"I'll go see who it is." Tezuka said, standing up. "You can go and get yourself some breakfast from the kitchen."

"Thanks." Ryoma yawned, and ruffled his hair. He walked to the kitchen and looked at the time that was flashing in the microwave. "6.30 AM, eh? I wonder who's up this early."

Tezuka opened the door, and was attacked by a cactus, that was shoved under his nose. "Welcome back, Tezuka!" Fuji smiled brightly at him. "Sorry I couldn't come yesterday evening, but Inui didn't tell me you were back, until really late, and I was already getting ready for bed by then."

"You really shouldn't have bothered, Fuji." Tezuka answered, accepting the cactus. "So, are you just stopping by on your way to… somewhere?"

"Don't be silly, Tezuka." Fuji giggled. "I came to make you some breakfast. After all, I remember you can't even boil water."

"Hnh." Tezuka considered just slamming the door in Fuji's face, but knew it would be futile. Fuji probably had his own set of keys to his house.

He stepped away from the door, letting Fuji get in. The big shocker was that Fuji was followed by Inui, Eiji, and Oishi, who at least had an apologetic smile on his face.

Once they reached the kitchen, there was a loud squeal, "O'chibi, you spend the night with Tezuka?!"

"Echizen, are you cheating on Atobe?"

"What is this? Atobe and Echizen? Echizen and Tezuka? Ii, data."

Tezuka groaned. This was not going to be pretty.

He went to the kitchen, and the first thing he saw, was a wide eyed Echizen. He stared at everyone, with a hint of panic in his eyes. When Tezuka arrived, Echizen locked eyes with him, and Tezuka knew what the kid was planning. His own eyes widened. "Echizen." He spread his left hand, and legs, and stood in the doorway, cutting of the kid's escape route. Unfortunately he'd forgotten the other way to the kitchen.

Echizen smirked, and ran to the living room. Tezuka heard the backdoor close. He swallowed, as he was faced with the questioning look of his friends. "And I thought Atobe was just being paranoid." Fuji looked at him, disappointed. "You better start explaining, Tezuka."

Had Tezuka ever said he thought of Echizen as a friend? Fuck that! The brat was now his mortal enemy.

Ryoma ran the first couple of blocks, before he dared to slow down. Convinced, that no one was following him, he stopped, leaned on his knees, breathing hard. Once he'd evened his breathing, the image of Tezuka's shocked face flashed in his mind, and he started giggling. It might be wise, to avoid Tezuka for a while.

The streets were quiet; hardly anyone was up yet, even if the sun had already risen. Ryoma took out his phone, so he could check to time. He had 21 missed calls. They were all from Atobe.

"Might as well deal with it right away." He mumbled to himself, and headed to Atobe's house. It would take at least an hour to walk there, but it would do for a morning jog.

When he got to the house, he didn't bother with the doorbell, but took the spare key from under the welcome mat, and opened the door, and closed it behind him, careful not to make too much noise. He took of his shoes and tiptoed to Keigo's room. Only to find it empty.

Puzzled, he went to the kitchen. There he found something he definitely wasn't expecting. Mukahi past out on top of Oshitari, cans of bear sprawled around them, and a half eaten pizza in its box, next to them. "What the hell happened here?" He asked out loud, before heading to the living room.

He tripped in the doorway, and fell on top of someone. Shishido Ryou was snoring, and clutching an empty wine bottle, pizza fillings smeared in his face. There was a mushroom on his hair.

Ryoma rose up, and headed to the couch. When he was about to sit on it, his eyes fell on a sight that made him see red. Atobe was sleeping on the floor, Jirou tightly held in his arms. Calm down. It's not that different from what happened with buchou. Maybe they just fell asleep.

It would have been a lot more convincing, if Jirou hadn't woken up, seen him, and shook Atobe, saying, "Wake up, Keigo-chan." Why the hell do people insist on giving cute nicknames to my boyfriend?

Atobe wasn't waking up, so Ryoma decided he should help Jirou. He went back to the kitchen, took a bowl from the cupboard, filled it up with cold water, returned to the living room, and dumped the water on Atobe.

While Atobe was choking, Ryoma glared murderously at Jirou. He might have even growled he wasn't sure. But at least he made Jirou back away from Atobe.

Ryoma smiled brightly at Atobe. "Good morning. Did you have fun last night?" He kept his voice steady, and keeping the smile in place was hurting his jaw. "Keigo-chan. Or is it Kei-kun?"

Atobe stared at him, water dripping from his hair to the carpet. There was a questioning look on his face, as he tried to understand Ryoma's words. Then something clicked in his mind. A wide smirk spread on his face. He pointed an accusing finger at Ryoma, and shouted, "Ah ha! You were jealous!"

Ryoma rolled his eyes, dropped the bowl (and it 'accidentally' landed on Jirou's head), and muttered, "Mada mada dane," before heading back to the kitchen, stepping over Shishido again, who had rolled to his stomach, and was hugging the wine bottle.

He stared at the past out 'dirty pair' and decided to make some coffee. A lot of coffee. He suspected they would all need it, once they woke up.

Now normally, Ryoma would have just stormed out of the house, and waited for Atobe to come grovel before him. But this time, Ryoma felt guilty. He had a nagging feeling that it was because of him, they all had come to Atobe's, and gotten drunk. Atobe had a tendency to over react, when it came to Tezuka.

While he waited for the coffee, Ryoma sat down by the kitchen table. He didn't have to wait for too long until Atobe sat across from him, still wearing his wet shirt. He'd only grabbed a towel around his shoulders, and dried his hair. It was a mess, and Ryoma considered pointing that out to Atobe. He didn't, though, when he noticed the dark expression on Atobe's face.

"So, where have you been?" Atobe sounded like wife, scolding his husband, and Ryoma found himself crouching like a husband, that had been out in the town for the night, and not called his wife.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"That doesn't explain where you have been, now does it?" Really much, like a nagging wife. "I tried calling you."

"Yeah, I know. 21 times." Ryoma chuckled.

"Why the hell didn't you answer?!"

"I fell asleep." Ryoma muttered under his breath.

"What? Didn't quite catch that."

"We were watching some of buchou's games, and fell asleep. Sorry."

"You fell asleep?" Atobe didn't sound convinced.

"Yes."

"So, you're telling me that I've been worried sick, hyperventilating, panicking, just because you fell asleep!"

"Pretty much. You hyperventilated?"

"Do not change the subject, when ore-sama is questioning you!" Atobe leaned over the table, staring intently at Ryoma, as he asked the next question, "So you didn't do anything, else, with Tezuka?"

"You have a perverted mind, monkey king!" Ryoma shouted.

"Hmph." Atobe crossed his arms. "You can hardly blame me for thinking that. You're always running to him. This time, you even chose to spend the night with him, instead of me."

"I already told you, it wasn't like that. We fell asleep."

Atobe sighed, and trailed his fingers through his still damp hair. "We can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"This… This not talking. I'm tired of getting bruises from you, and not knowing the reason for it."

"So you'd be okay with having bruises from me if you knew the reason?" Ryoma smirked.

Atobe laughed. "That's not exactly what I meant…" He turned serious again. "Ryoma, I really l-"

He was interrupted by Jirou, who flung his arms around him, and squealed, "Morning, Keigo-chan! I used your camera to take a picture of Ryou-chan when he was sleeping. He was cute! You want to see it? I'll-" Jirou froze, when he glanced at Ryoma. The golden eyes promised him pain and torment. Jiroh slowly untangled his arms from around Atobe, and hid behind Oshitari, who had recently waken. "Ryo-chan is scary." He whispered.

Shishido emerged from behind them. The pizza fillings, and the mushroom had disappeared. He looked at the bowl of apples on the kitchen table, and asked, "Are those things plastic too?"

"Who'd keep plastic fruits?" Ryoma asked, and chucked one for Shishido, who caught it. He bit, and scowled at it. "Okay, the monkey king would." Ryoma said.

"You like fresh fruit? Ore-sama shall make sure there will be fresh fruits next time you arrive."

"Thought you said they just attract insects." Shishido muttered.

Atobe threw a plastic apple at his head.

"Oi! What the fuck, Atobe!" Shishido yelled.

He would have launched at Atobe, if Oshitari hadn't intervened, and directed him towards the coffee machine, saying, "Do I detect the sweet scent of a caffeinated beverage?"

"It's called coffee, you fake megane! And let go of me! I'm going to pound his head in!"

"For a simple, thrown plastic decoration? That might be going a little too far, don't you think?"

"Does he always talk like a walking encyclopaedia?" Ryoma asked Atobe.

"No, it's a rather new thing, actually. He used to have a terrible accent."

"Oh, what kind?"

"Kansai."

"Had a pen pall from there once."

"Still keep in contact with him?"

"No, not since he turned out to be 56, male, and married."

"Personal ads?"

"I was young, and naïve."

"How old?"

"Last week."

"What?!" Atobe knocked his chair down when he stood up, shouting his question, shocked.

"Relax, I'm joking." Ryoma laughed. "We just fell out of touch a few years back."

"Do not do that again." Atobe ordered, as he picked up his chair and sat down again. "I do not need yet another reason to be jealous of you. Tezuka is enough to cause me cardiac arrest."

"I already told you, you don't need to be worried about Tezuka. I mean, it's Buchou." Ryoma thought it explained everything.

"Whoa! Did you hear that Yuushi! He does sound kinkier then I do!" At some point, Mukahi had gotten up, and was now leaning on the kitchen counter, a coffee cup in his hands, eyes fixed on the pair by the kitchen table. He wasn't alone in his activity. The rest had their eyes fixed on them, as well.

"What?" Ryoma was oblivious.

"Well…" Atobe started. "The way you say Buchou, is a little… different."

"What's wrong with the way I say Buchou." Ryoma asked, wide eyed.

"Oh shit, he did it again!" Mukahi squealed. "Why can't I talk like that? Why, Yuushi why?"

"What the hell are they talking about?" Ryoma turned back to Atobe. "I'll ask again, and this time, I want a real answer. What's wrong with the way I say Buchou?"

"Well… It's breathy, and provocative, and… Hell, it makes me imagine things!" Atobe screamed.

"Yeah, me too." Shishido grinned.

"You want another apple to hit you, ahn?" Atobe glared.

"I don't know what you're talking about. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the way I say Buchou." Ryoma crossed his arms. "If there was, someone would've pointed it out before." He tried to ignore the memories that popped in to his head, Fuji's quirked eyebrows, Kikumaru's giggles, Momo's crooked smirks, and most of all, Tezuka's blushes.

Shishido groaned over dramatically and closed his eyes. There was a weird glint in Oshitari's eyes that reminded Ryoma of Fuji, in a scary way. Jirou's mouth was open, as if he did not believe Ryoma's daring. Mukahi was staring at him intently, before saying, "You have to teach me that."

The comment was probably what pushed Atobe over the edge. Or maybe it was the fact that he could clearly see Oshitari checking out Ryoma. He jumped up, knocking the chair over, yet again, and pointed a finger at Ryoma, taking an imposing stance. "That is it! I forbid you from ever again saying that word!"

"What word, Monkey King?" Ryoma glared.

"Oh my god, it's not a one word miracle!" Shishido yelled. "And these are images I would rather not see!"

"Now you really have to teach me that!" Mukahi demanded.

"Fucking Hyotei, full of fucking freaks and perverts." Ryoma muttered, as he fled the kitchen. He shivered, as he felt more then one pair of eyes lock on to his behind. He was never again going to meet any of Keigo's friends.

Atobe came to pick up Ryoma from school the next day, not really grovelling, but neither was Ryoma really apologetic. And it wasn't really like they'd been fighting, or anything, when Ryoma left Atobe's house the day before. He'd just left, after getting on overdose of Hyotei.

"Well…" Atobe said, leaning on his car.

"Yeah…" Ryoma kicked the ground, shuffling his tennis, and school bags. They really were a bit heavy. "I asked Momo-sempai." He finally muttered.

"About what?" Atobe wasn't following.

"About the whole 'Buchou' thing." Ryoma clarified.

"Oh!" Atobe coughed, shifted his weight on to his other foot, and asked, tentatively, as if waiting for on explosion, "What did he say?"

Ryoma coughed, hand fisted against his mouth, slight blush on his cheeks. Momo had twitched a couple of times, mumbled 'Thought you were doing it on purpose,' before fleeing. "Pretty much the same thing you all did."

Atobe was itching to yell, 'Told you so!' and point an accusing finger at Ryoma, while doing a victory dance. Instead, he settled for a smile, that he managed to hide from Ryoma. "So, you're going to stop saying that word now, right?" He asked.

"I never said that!" Ryoma shouted.

"But… You just… Why?!" Atobe let out a whine.

Ryoma smirked, "I like to see Buchou blush."

Atobe smacked his forehead. "Of course you do." He muttered. "Why was I cursed to fall in love with someone as insensitive as you?"

"In love?" Ryoma choked. "Hey, you just wait a minute, here! No one told me anything about love!"

"What? You gonna claim now that your seeing me just because the sex is great? A step up from sleeping with me because of my tennis skills, but still…"

"That's not what I meant! I mean, I like you, ok, but love! That's going a little too fast, don't you think?"

"You like me?" Atobe asked, affronted. "That is just so like you, brat. I tell you I love you, and you answer with telling me you like me?"

"I like you a lot."

"That's hardly sufficient!"

"I might learn to love you?"

Atobe took a moment to actually look at Ryoma. The kid was smirking. "I'm going to nail your ass to the ground for that, brat."

"In tennis, right?"

"That too."

They were leaving the familiar court, when Ryoma noticed something in the chain link fence that caught his attention. It was a metal plaque that had the words, 'Property of Atobe Corporation' on it.

"Your family owns this court?" Ryoma asked in disbelief.

"Aa-hn. Why?"

"Well, why the hell aren't there any showers in the locker room?!" Ryoma yelled.

"That still bothering you? If you want, I can have them build showers in there." Atobe suggested.

"…"

"…"

"Don't."

---